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Topic: Ph question for IPA recipe (Read 17329 times)

What is the proper Ph for an IPA... assuming I like super hoppy IPA's? I just bought the Five Star 5.2 Stabilizer for a batch I plan on making this weekend. Before anyone asks, I typically use reverse osmosis water and add burton salts. But my beers are missing a crispness for some reason. The water chemistry thing is tough on my brain. I'd really appreciate some advice.

I can't recall the hop schedule... but it was about 7 or 8 ounces total for a 5-gallon batch. I like my hops.

My yeast is WLP-001. I added two teaspoons of Burton Salts to 5 gallons of reverse osmosis water for the mash... 152 degrees for just over an hour. I sparged with 3.7 gallons and added a teaspoon of Burton Salts if I'm remembering right.

I did have a problem with a slow starting yeast... not sure if that would effect the "crispness" of the beer or not.

The range of appropriate mash pH is the same no matter what the style of beer is, it's the pH required for good conversion of the starches to sugars.

We'll need a full recipe, as well as the amount of Burton salts you're adding to the water, then we can talk about crispness. Everything from malt and mash temps to yeast and fermentation temps.

The range for mash conversion is the same, and it's pretty forgiving . However, the pH of the wort going into your fermentor has a flavor impact as well. A lower pH seems to impart a smoother bitterness and prevents wort darkening during the boil. On the other hand, beers like farmhouse saisons tend to have a higher pH pre-fermentation that lends a dry, slightly harsh bite. I've also had more success with the Saison Dupont yeast when aiming for a higher kettle pH.

My usual warning for the Buffer 5.2....don't assume it's working for you. If you use it, you should also check your pH to make sure it's correct. depending on your water and your recipe, sometimes the stuff works, sometimes it doesn't.

Like euge said, there's several things you could do to improve crispness. The easiest thing I think is to remove 50% of the crystal from your recipe, that should improve the perception of dryness and make the beer taste more crisp. You could also add table sugar to dry it out more.

My usual warning for the Buffer 5.2....don't assume it's working for you. If you use it, you should also check your pH to make sure it's correct. depending on your water and your recipe, sometimes the stuff works, sometimes it doesn't.

Ditto. Most water works for most beer.I hope that you are checking the pH of your mash. If not how do you know that you need the pH 5.2?Why are you using RO water rather than your tap water?

I'd like to look at some basics. Did you pitch enough yeast? What was the FG? Most IPA recipes are gonna need more than one tube of yeast, or a real good starter.Also you should calibrate your thermometers. I mash IPA's more at 149-150* to be sure they are very fermentable.(you'll still have 'body' with the crystal malt) Target a FG closer to 1.010...maybe the dry finish of a low FG will provide the 'crispness' your looking for.